There may or may not be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But you want to know what is definite?

My novel, A Remarkable Kindness.

Here is a photo of the contract from HarperCollins Publishers signed and stamped by them and by me!

Along with that, I got an email from the William Morrow editor at HarperCollins, Rachel Kahan, with notes for me on how to revise the novel.

Here’s an embarrassing fact. Well, why not get it out in the open?

Rachel told me: The word “said” appears 1566 times in a 385 pp manuscript, which is far too many.

Who’dathunkit?

So, writers, here’s what Rachel says: “In a lot of cases, you don’t need “said” at all—it’s enough to show what the characters are doing or how they’re saying something. If the dialogue and action are clean and in context, you shouldn’t need to say “he said” all that often because it’s understood who is speaking and it’s not necessary to draw attention to the fact that they’re speaking. There are also plenty of instances where you can substitute a different verb for “said” that will give context and color to the way characters are behaving or speaking; those improve the scene and cut down on the repetition of “said.”

She is totally right. Going through the book, I see that I am down to 836 “said’s” and I’m still deleting. Yikes!

Her viewpoint goes against Stephen King who, in his fabulotastic book, On Writing, said, (and I’m paraphrasing), do not say, exclaimed or shouted or chuckled but said. Go figure.

Here’s a totally wonderfully utterly terrific fact. Rachel also wrote, “I so enjoyed re-reading this and found it even more affecting the second time around—I never fail to tear up at the end, and I don’t tear up too often when I read! It’s that good!”

So, folks, get ready for A REMARKABLE KINDNESS, due out in July 2015!

What do you all think of the title? It went from THE DEAD CAN NEVER THANK YOU to THE WOMEN’S BURIAL CIRCLE to A REMARKABLE KINDNESS. The novel is about the intertwined lives of four American friends who are members of a traditional Jewish society and prepare dead women for burial in a small beach village in Israel.

Final fact: Writing feels like walking down a long long road. But I kept walking and walking and working and writing and I didn’t give up. Refused to give up. So, if you’re writing something or creating something or dreaming of something, keep doing it. Do not give in to those voices that tell you what you’re writing is silly or bad. Just keep on. I told myself, if you give up, you will never forgive yourself.

IF YOU GIVE UP, YOU WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF.

The long road leading to my village, Shavei Zion, in Western Galilee, Israel. It’s a peaceful sunny day, Hamas wasn’t shooting at us. Hezbollah has, though. Katyusha rockets landed in the field on the left in 2006.

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About dianabletter

Diana Bletter is a writer living in Western Galilee. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, tabletmag, Glamour, The Forward, The North American Review, Times of Israel, and many other publications. Her first book, The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women (with photographs by Lori Grinker) was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. Her novel, A Remarkable Kindness, (HarperCollins) was published in 2015. She is the First Prize Winner of Family Circle Magazine's 2011 Fiction Contest and author of Big Up Yourself: It's About Time You Like Being You.

Still smiling at the reference to the “said” numbers. When I was teaching writing classes, as a general rule I had writers count the number of “saids” in their ms. and then eliminate one half of them, showing an action to indicate the speaker, or making it clear through the dialogue who was speaking. One student asked how many bonus points he’d earn if he removed every “said.”

(He was kind of extreme like that, but he has gone on to have stories published in anthologies and men’s magazines…)

SUCH GREAT NEWS!!! And NO ONE deserves it more. I can’t wait to read it, and still be your sister. Remember Git saying, “the only thing I did is smoke” that was from TMWTOOHM! I said…Hummm, I forgot what I said!

Thank you for the mention!
Your memoir, “The Mom Who Took Off on Her Motorcycle” deeply inspired me. And then to get to know more of you and your work here on your website continues to be a positive influence.
Thank you for giving your words and your heart. It matters.

A book tour? Really?!! Come to Chicago! I wonder whether Spertus would welcome your doing a presentation? They also have a gift shop that sells books. I don’t have the web address at hand but they are the Jewish higher education org here but not limited to Jewish people. Their web address would either be http://www.Spertus.edu or http://www.spertus.org. They offer Masters degrees and certificate programs. They often host writers to speak of their works. There are other places/organizations but that jumped into my head right away plus I know some people there…

Ten Ways To Free the Creativity Within

1. Who you are is life’s gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift back to life.
2. To be more you, be less you. Do the opposite of what you're used to doing.
3. Your personal record is against yourself and nobody else.
4. Fear is Forgetting Everything’s All Right
5. Put gratitude in your attitude.
6. Live in day-tight compartments.
7. When agitated, pause and breathe deep.
8. Remember the problem in front of you is never as large as the power behind you.
9. Take care of your mind, heart, body and soul each day.
10. You only get to live once and if you do it right, that’s enough.

Diana Bletter is a writer living in Western Galilee. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, tabletmag, Glamour, The Forward, The North American Review, Times of Israel, and many other publications. Her first book, The Invisible Thread: A Portrait of Jewish American Women (with photographs by Lori Grinker) was nominated for a National Jewish Book Award. Her novel, A Remarkable Kindness, (HarperCollins) was published in 2015. She is the First Prize Winner of Family Circle Magazine's 2011 Fiction Contest and author of Big Up Yourself: It's About Time You Like Being You.